The weeping willow bends over the banks of the lake, meeting the water lily that floats in the center. Two-year-old twins, Willow and Lilly (above), were named for this poetic image, symbolizing their own special bond. The Chinese-American twins' mother, Tang Ling, said her husband's grandfather and great-grandmother were also twins.

"They often have nonverbal telepathy," Tang said of her little girls. "Lilly got sick a week ago and had to have an injection. Willow saw her sister crying at the window and struggled in my arms. I let her go, and she fetched a toy for Lily and went and stood by her side to console her. That was so sweet!"

The happy family is one of hundreds who will take part in the Beijing Twins Festival at Honglingjin Park, from October 2 to 5. The festival is open to all multiples - identical and fraternal, young and old, twins, triplets, quads or more - and their families.

"Sometimes, it is hard to take care of twins," Tang said. "But having them is a blessing and we want to spread the message about how special they are and how they should be taken care of."

Festival organizers said a total of 616 sets of twins have Registered for the event, including 93 fraternal twins (called pigeon twins in Chinese), 11 triplets, and 31 sets from other provinces and overseas. So many look-alike siblings together will be a rare sight in a country where birth control rules limit most urban families to one child.

Long Hua and Hua Xia (pictured left) are 20-year-old twins also attending the festival. They are old enough to recognize the strengths and weaknesses of their mirror-image sister. "We have a partner. We naturally have a friend to talk to," said Long. The girls wore identical red dresses and yellow scarves, set off with matching fashionable blond streaks in their hair.

Yet, Dong Yarong and Dong Yajie, a bubbly pair of sisters in their 30s with matching dimples, said looking exactly alike can have its drawbacks. "It's hard when you're first meeting a boyfriend," Dong Yarong said as her sister laughed. "It's really awkward when her new boyfriend looks at me with that look."

They were attuned to the added emotional support of having a twin in a society of only children -- dubbed isolated "little emperors" by Chinese officials who worry they will grow up maladjusted.

Highlights of the festival program include round-lake torch racing, family companionship activities, lectures and essay writing projects. In 2004, the first Beijing Twins Festival brought together more than 500 sets from across the world for a four-day cultural event. Some 600 sets of twins attended 2005's festival, and 400 pairs last year.

Free entry. To get there: bus route 126, 306, 440, 640, 721, 808 or 858 and get off at Honglingjin Bridge.

(China Daily 09/27/2007 page18)